"I have received offers from French clubs, some recent, but I politely declined," he told Politiken. "I cannot speak the language well enough and I will not depend on interpreters or risk there being misunderstandings in the course of my daily work -- I have already had that experience in Moscow. So, no, I'm not going to France."

The former Juventus, Barcelona and Real Madrid star also said that he would be reluctant to take another job in La Liga or the Premier League unless one of the bigger sides in either country approached him.

He has recently been linked with clubs including Southampton, West Bromwich Albion and Granada.

"I've had conversations with clubs in England and Spain -- and I want to be very careful not to appear arrogant, because I'm not -- but they have been with clubs at a level I've already worked at," he said. "I have tried the smaller clubs in the two top leagues -- Getafe and Mallorca in Spain and Swansea in the Premier League -- so I see no reason to repeat what I've already done.

"That leaves me with two options: to wait for an offer from a bigger club or say yes to one of the offers that have come from clubs outside Europe."

Asked whether that could include the prospect of a job in the United States, Australia or Asia, he replied: "It could be anywhere. My feeling at the moment is that I would rather take charge of a club where I can look towards the top of the table rather than the bottom."

He said he may be prepared to wait "a year or two" for the right job in Europe, though, and while he was open to taking a post outside his home continent, he was aware it may hinder his future prospects.

"It could be exciting, but there is also the risk that you may be forgotten and have a tough time getting a good coaching role in Europe afterwards."

The 49-year-old, who would not be drawn on his interest in taking charge of the Danish national team at some stage, also indicated that his managerial career would not extend too far into the future.

"I will not grow old on the bench," he said. "Being a head coach is far, far tougher than being a player. I have decided that I will never be a coach who goes from job to job until I turn 70."